Federal 100: Lew Newlin

Lew Newlin
Associate Director for IT Infrastructure Emergency Preparedness and Security
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

When the H1N1 outbreak hit in 2009, Newlin moved into high gear to get CDC's Strategic National Stockpile ready to support the medical professionals who needed to urgently care for their patients.

The Strategic National Stockpile transports life-supporting medications and personnel around the world. Through his innovative IT strategy, Newlin helped facilitate the delivery of 234,000 bottles of Tamiflu to 62 project areas and quickly set up 19 emergency locations with the necessary IT systems to support medical providers and public health experts.

“What’s unique about Lew is his in-depth command of a wide range of IT disciplines that is especially valuable in his emergency preparedness and response role,” said Jim Seligman, CDC's chief information officer. “He’s a software developer, a cybersecurity expert and an infrastructure professional, which he leverages during a public health emergency situation to support CDC’s response activities.”

FCW investigated efforts by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to improve a joint data repository on military and veteran suicides. Something as impersonal and mundane as incomplete datasets could be exacerbating a national tragedy.